HARVEST HERBS

Make use of any herbs you have grown that produce volatile oils. Thyme, as featured across many Central Otago landscapes, smells strongest and best when temperatures are highest. The oils must be some sort of protective response to heat, I’m guessing, so when conditions are extra hot at your place, as they are at mine, the fragrant herbs are at their best. Mints, despite preferring to grow in wetter parts of the garden, are smelling their best right now, so picking now and making use of them is optimal. I’ve been using herbs to provide delightful fragrances for visitors, create refreshing and fresh teas, keep biting insects at bay and to generally steep my world in lovely smells. My balms and mints and everything else that smells nice, have been plucked, quite hard, and have responded with fresh growth and renewed vigour. It’s delightful to have bushes of ‘‘smelly’’ herbs